Editing Chesty Puller (section)

===United States occupation of Haiti===
Corporal Puller received orders to serve in the ''[[Gendarmerie of Haiti|Gendarmerie d'Haiti]]'' as a lieutenant, [[United States occupation of Haiti|seeing action in Haiti]].<ref name="Davis1991">{{Harvnb|Davis|1991}}</ref> While the United States was working under a treaty with Haiti, he participated in over forty engagements during the ensuing five years against the [[Cacos (military group)|Caco]] rebels and attempted to regain his commission as an officer twice. In 1922, he served as an [[adjutant]] to Major [[Alexander Vandegrift]], a future [[Commandant of the United States Marine Corps|Commandant of the Marine Corps]].

====Supply run====
Puller received orders to deliver supplies to [[Mirebalais]] and [[Lascahobas]]. These two small towns were located in a region where there was a significant presence of Caco guerrillas under the command of Benoît Batraville, who was a high ranking insurgent leader. Puller's supply party consisted of twenty-five mounted Haitian Gendarmes along with the pack animals. Puller kept his force moving rapidly to avoid risking an [[ambush]] or night attack by the Caco.

Later on, the small force of Gendarmes led by Puller ran into an equally surprised column of about one hundred Cacos coming from the opposite direction around a bend in the road.  Puller ordered a charge and spurred his horse forward to attack the Cacos. The Gendarmes charged beside him and scattered the Cacos, who used guerilla tactics and therefore seldom stood their ground if attacked by a significant force. The Cacos fired a handful of shots at the onrushing American-led Gendarmes and then dispersed to make pursuit more difficult. With the burden of the pack mules, Puller could not pursue the evasive Cacos. After the clash ended, one dead Caco bandit was found.

This skirmish was Puller's first engagement in the occupation and showed his adeptness at aggressive action and effective leadership from the front. Puller and his force of Gendarmes reached Mirebalais and delivered the supplies needed by the town. The next day, Puller made a 34-hour round trip to Lascahobas to deliver the final supplies and then returned to [[Port-au-Prince]] completing his supply run.<ref name="Hoffman28">{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|pp=[https://archive.org/details/chestystoryoflie00hoff/page/27/mode/2up 27–28]}}</ref>

====Ambushing the Cacos====
Puller was assigned a new duty to begin offensive operations against the Cacos. Puller inherited a force of one hundred Gendarmes who were supported unofficially by about the same number of female [[camp follower]]s. Puller's assigned chief assistant was acting Second Lieutenant Augustin B. Brunot, a Haitian who was fluent in English. Other pro-American Haitians added to Puller's force were newly commissioned lieutenants Lyautey and Brunot, and a Haitian private named Jean Louis Cermontout, who Puller recruited with the promise of promotion after seeing him return from a successful patrol with the severed heads of two Cacos bandits.

Brunot and Lyautey advised Puller on how to combat the Cacos insurgents. They advised him that daylight patrols had little chance of encountering the Cacos, as they hid during the day, only emerging from hiding to ambush government patrols if they had superior numbers. Chance encounters such as Puller's supply run were rare because the Cacos knew the terrain and had good intelligence of constabulary activities. They advised him that the Cacos encamped at night and that night patrols would have a better chance of surprising them. When Puller and his unit, following this advice, patrolled along a ridge-top trail one night, he observed campfires and heard drums nearby. Puller with Lyautey and some Gendarmes went to scout, while Brunot remained with the rest of the Gendarmes. The noise turned out to be a celebration at a Cacos guerrilla encampment. After returning, Puller came up with a plan to ambush the Cacos at dawn.

Puller placed the main body of men in a line facing the bandit camp and sent the smaller crews with three [[Lewis gun|Lewis machine guns]] to the [[Flanking maneuver|flank]] in a position where they covered the enemy rear, setting an L-shaped ambush. After Puller's force of Gendarmes got into position, Puller executed the ambush. As Puller had predicted, when the main body of men opened fire at first light, the surprised Cacos bandits fled from the source of immediate danger into the fields of fire of the machine guns, where all seventeen were killed. Dozens of machetes and a large flock of gamecocks were found. Puller and his Gendarmes celebrated their victory and feasted on abandoned supplies while using the game cocks for [[cockfight]]ing. Puller later participated in more patrols as he gained experience and learned the peculiarities of small wars.<ref name="Hoffman28-30">{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|pp=[https://archive.org/details/chestystoryoflie00hoff/page/29/mode/2up 29–30]}}</ref><ref name="Davis1991"/>

====Further operations against the Cacos, October–November 1919====
Puller would conduct more offensive operations to suppress the Cacos. On October 28, 1919, Puller went on a patrol with Brunot and a mixed force of fifteen American Marines and Gendarmes. They would stay out ten days, at which time another group would relieve them. The unit, using night movements, made contact on October 31 with a small band, killing two of the enemy and capturing four rifles, several machetes, and some swords. On November 1, they arrested three suspected bandits.<ref name="Hoffman31">{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/chestystoryoflie00hoff/page/31/mode/2up 31]}}</ref>

====Infiltrating and raiding a Cacos camp, November 4, 1919====
On the afternoon of November 4, 1919, Puller and his men entered a small village of grass shacks ten miles west of Mirebalais. A priest told Brunot that a high ranking Cacos insurgent leader named Dominique Georges had a camp about fifteen miles away. He and his men decided to take this opportunity to kill or capture Dominique Georges. Despite heavy rain, Puller took a small patrol of Marines and Gendarmes out immediately. Puller, Brunot, and Private Cermontout Jean Louis scouted out ahead of the small column during the night when they came upon the remains of a bonfire, indicating a bandit guard post. A Cacos sentry armed with a rifle challenged Puller's group. The sentry could not see them clearly as it was very dark and his bonfire had been put out by the rain. Brunot replied in his Haitain accent "Cacos", at which the guard let them through. Puller, Brunot, and Jean Louis were able to infiltrate the Cacos camp and came upon a clearing with many huts and [[lean-to]]s. Puller and Jean Louis took firing positions on the ground after Puller sent Brunot to gather the rest of the patrol to assault the camp. Puller aimed his rifle at a man he later believed was Georges, but waited for the main attack instead of firing. A Caco challenged the two prone figures, so that Puller had to shoot the Caco, starting the battle. The marines and gendarmes rushed forward, but the estimated two hundred Cacos scattered, with Puller and Jean Louis firing as fast as they could at fleeing figures. After the government forces had possession of the camp, they found one dead Caco. Puller's patrol took twenty seven rifles, swords, and machetes, and several dozen gamecocks. Among the booty was Georges' personal rifle, identified by his initials in the stock. Puller and his patrol spent the night at the camp and then withdrew safely to their base at Mirebalais.<ref name="Hoffman28-30"/><ref name="Davis1991"/>

====Patrol and raid, November 9, 1919====
On November 9, Puller and Brunot led a patrol of thirty-three Gendarmes. Just before dawn they found a camp and attacked it. This time Puller and his fellow Gendarmes killed ten Cacos and captured two rifles. After the raid of the Cacos camp, they safely withdrew to Mirebalais by a circuitous route and fell into garrison routine for a few days.<ref name="Hoffman32">{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/chestystoryoflie00hoff/page/32/mode/2up 32]}}</ref>

====Further patrol operations====
After the successful assassination of [[Charlemagne Péralte]] by [[Herman H. Hanneken]] in a raid, Benoît Batraville became the next leader of the Cacos.  Puller and Brunot each took a part of the company out on a patrol. Brunot spotted a Caco force that turned out to be Batraville's, but before Brunot could get his force into position for an attack, the Cacos broke camp and melted away. Puller had better luck, with two Cacos killed and sixteen captured.<ref name="Hoffman33">{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/chestystoryoflie00hoff/page/33/mode/2up 33]}}</ref>

====Ending of the fighting in Haiti====
The Cacos rebellion collapsed altogether when a Marine patrol killed Batraville on May 19, 1920. A month later, the last significant Caco leader surrendered. More patrols by the Gendarmes and American Marines in the following year killed a further eighty-five Cacos. Later on in September 1920, [[Herman H. Hanneken]] penetrated a Caco camp in disguise, arresting five chiefs while killing another. By June 1921, a government military commander declared the country to be "completely tranquil."<ref name="Hoffman39">{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/chestystoryoflie00hoff/page/39/mode/2up 39]}}</ref>

====Return to the United States====
Puller returned stateside and was finally recommissioned as a second lieutenant on March 6, 1924 ([[Service number (United States Marine Corps)|Service No.]] 03158). After completing assignments at the Marine barracks in [[Norfolk, Virginia]]; [[The Basic School]] in [[Quantico, Virginia]]; and with the [[10th Marine Regiment (United States)|10th Marine Artillery Regiment]] in [[Quantico, Virginia]], he was assigned to the Marine barracks at [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], in July 1926 and in [[San Diego, California]], in 1928.

[[File:1stLt Lewis B. Puller with members of the Guardia Nacional.tif|thumb|200 px|left|Puller with members of the Guardia Nacional]]